Chapter 33: From the Halls of Montezuma

Summary:

The I-Expo continues! Quirk testing and spars from across oceans!

Notes:

Fair warning that this chapter is more self-indulgent than this fic usually is. If OCs make you break out in hives, I'm sorry for the second half of this chapter.

(Not sorry enough to stop myself, but sorry nonetheless)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up to an acrid stench flooding his nostrils and sputtered as he tried to assess his surroundings and situation. He apparently had the oddest dream while he was unconscious.

"Not a dream," En interjected.

"Please don't faint again," Nana asked, caring but exasperated.

"Are you all right, young Izuku?" All Might asked, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," Izuku stated. He certainly hoped he wouldn't faint again. "So, you and my mom… Not going to lie to either of us that I haven't daydreamed of this exact scenario before. Also not going to lie and say there isn't a part of me that's trying to reject the mental images…"

All Might laughed deeply, "Well, I'm not going to blame you for either of those."

Izuku then lightly tapped All Might's side with his fist, "If you hurt my mom, that's what All for One's attack on you will feel like in comparison."

"Young Izuku, I have no intention of ever hurting Inko-san, and I know that if I do, even unintentionally, I will face a world of pain followed by an afterlife of being lectured within our shared Quirk. But, trust me, I fear your retaliation far less than I do Inko-san's," All Might said with a light shiver.

Izuku smiled, "Well then, with that said, you have my blessing."

"I'll try not to let you down, my boy," All Might said, patting Izuku's shoulder.

"You haven't, Toshi-tou-san…" Izuku said, eyes shedding tears. As several ghosts started to clear their throats, Izuku amended that to, "Well, not since that whole 'clench your buttcheeks' debacle."

"I know that I'll never live that down," All Might sighed. "All I request is that you don't put that on my tombstone."

Before Izuku could respond, Mei rounded the corner. Melissa followed, with Star and Stripe right on their heels. Mei immediately tackled him, "Are you okay?!" She said that out loud, then confirmed, "Danger Sense went off for me."

"Yeah," Izuku said smiling. "All good. Dad just had a bit of surprising news for me. Good news, but surprising."

"Oh, good," Mei said, hauling Izuku to his feet. "Glad we don't have to rough up the Symbol of Peace during a public event. That'd be awkward."

Any further comment was halted as Star and Stripe cleared her throat with a wide grin, "Master? I heard the little guy call you 'Dad'. And you didn't deny it…"

All Might sighed, "It isn't biological, but it may become official soon, if things go well. I trust that you will be discreet about this, young Cathleen?"

Star and Stripe nodded, then thought of something, "Wait, Melissa, you and Izuku are dating?"

"I am too!" Mei said, moving from Izuku to glomp onto Melissa.

"We're poly," Melissa stated as Star and Stripe blinked.

The heroine recovered, "And yet, he calls All Might his dad, and you call him your uncle…" Melissa and Izuku blushed as the implications set in. "What would you call this, then? An Alabama Smash?"

"CATHY!" Melissa shouted, her face completely crimson as Star and Stripe laughed loudly.

"Um, what?" Mei asked, completely confused.

"I have no idea," Izuku shrugged, still blushing but not sure what the joke was.

All Might coughed, probably to cover up a laugh, "Perhaps I'll explain it later."

Izuku gave All Might a side-eye, "Will you actually?"

All Might slumped, "Honestly? No."

"Thought so," Izuku grumbled.

"Any insights as to the nature of our increased powers, Yoichi-san?" Momo asked. When the party was winding down, the group went to one of the testing facilities on the upper floors. Momo practically radiated excitement as she contemplated the implications of her Quirk evolving.

"Unfortunately, not at the moment," Yoichi shook his head, visible to anyone who had reached the Sharing Bond.

Izuku put his finger to his mouth, "The thing I'm curious about is whether or not Yoichi-jii-san's Bond effects One for All as a whole or the transfer component only. From the memories I received, both Kendai and Marubashi's vestiges were assimilated into Yoichi-jii-san's Quirk, which raises the question of why they merged instead of existing side-by-side. Did Power Stockpile try to absorb Yoichi-jii-san's Transfer? Was absorbing new Quirks a component of Yoichi-jii-san's Quirk? Since All for One is demonstrably able to carry multiple Quirks within his body, shouldn't it make sense for his brother to do so as well? It didn't merge with the subsequent holders because it seems that doing so causes a battle of wills between the vestiges and the current host, so I think that One for All didn't merge because no one wanted to either cease existing or kill whoever was holding it-"

"Izuku," Melissa interrupted. "This is a fascinating little rabbit hole you're going down, but we'll need to start testing and we could use your full attention."

Izuku blushed, "Right! I'll save those thoughts for later! Momo-chan, let's start small. See how something you normally create might differ…"

Momo instantly popped out a matryoshka doll set, but her glow of creation was supplemented by the scarlet lightning of One for All. She cocked her head, "That didn't take as much effort as it usually does. Neither mentally nor physically. My lipid stores don't seem to have drained at all."

Izuku's eyes gleamed. "Huh, let's try going bigger, something that would normally drain you significantly…"

Nodding, Momo followed that up with a diamond the size of a volleyball, then a plush armchair, then a full-sized cannon, then a motorcycle, then a life-sized statue of herself that appeared to be made of bronze. She frowned, "That statue isn't hollow, it's solid bronze. Normally, I'd have been exhausted after the cannon and drained completely after the motorcycle, but I barely felt that. It's perplexing…"

Melissa looked up from the screens, "Momo, how exactly does your Quirk function, again?"

"I transform the lipids in my body into whatever I wish, provided that I know the chemical makeup of my intended creation. And the schematics, if applicable," Momo stated.

Melissa looked pensive at that, "Hmm… While I can't exactly fault your Quirk counselor for misinterpreting it, I don't think that's the mechanism at all. The machine readouts don't match up to that sort of matter transmutation. If anything, it resembles readouts from people with nuclear Quirks, just without a radiation output…"

"Wait, aren't atomic elements created in stars? Simple fusion for the lighter elements, supernova for the heavier stuff?" Ochako contributed, her special interest in space serving her well for this.

Izuku beamed, "Then Momo-chan isn't transforming her lipids into her creations, she's burning them to fuel their synthesis!" Izuku brightened. He turned to Momo, practically vibrating with excitement, "Your Quirk is, essentially, the heart of a star! Your only limit was the amount of raw fuel you had to power it. And now you've just been tapped into the biggest power source available to a person!"

"Oh my!" Momo put her hand to her mouth in shock. "That is quite the upgrade. It's honestly a little terrifying…" She tilted her head, "I believe that is how One for All enhances Creation… but given that One for All is Yoichi-san's Quirk, I do not believe the bond could influence Creation in another way, as it did for Occhan and Mei-chan…"

Yoichi shook his head, "No, I can feel… something influencing you besides One for All as a whole…" He looked between Izuku and Momo, "Izuku, I believe that you stumbled upon something in your muttering. One for All is more similar to All for One than I would prefer. It absorbed pieces of the previous bearers and transferred them to the new hosts… I think I have an idea. Momo-chan, touch the console Melissa-chan is using and attempt to create an exact duplicate of it…"

Momo looked skeptical, but attempted to do so. She was utterly surprised as a perfect copy of the console appeared before her in the glow of creation.

Melissa went to Momo's creation and was baffled, "How? This design is proprietary!"

Smiling, Yoichi said, "For good measure, try to create it once again, without touching the original."

Momo did as instructed, and was flabbergasted to see another copy produced. Melissa tested them, "Both of them are in working order. They even have the same programming installed on them! They even have the same data saved to them!"

Yoichi began to grin, "It appears that this is how my Quirk influences yours. You can instantly replicate anything you touch. You then immediately store the 'blueprints' of that object. We'll need to test if this wears off, but you can essentially trace an item and mass produce it. Touch, for example, a sword, and you could produce an unlimited amount of those blades…"

Izuku looked at Yoichi's grin and said, "You're referencing some long-dead piece of media that hasn't survived to the modern age, aren't you?"

Yoichi chuckled, "Genetics be damned, you really are my descendant…"

Momo looked at Yoichi's vestige, "Do I run the risk of draining the stockpile if I use it too much?"

"I doubt it," Yoichi said. "One for All doesn't deplete in power. At least, it hasn't so far. And nothing you've done thus far has put a dent in it."

"That's a relief," Momo said. "Of course, One for All's current status is so ridiculously powerful that even a half of a percent would be as much power as a normal person needs."

Izuku jerked as if he'd been shocked. He looked like he had a breakthrough. He and Yoichi shared some fervent glances, and probably a private telepathic conversation. "Melissa, do you trust me?" he asked

"I did up until you asked me that," Melissa stated. "Why?"

"I think I know what enhancement Momo's giving me, but I need to test it and you're the only person I know who can deal with it," Izuku said as he held a single hair in between his thumb and forefinger. The hair began to glow with a light similar to Momo's Creation Quirk, right up until he plucked it off his head.

Melissa's eyes widened, "That glow… you can't be transferring One for All to me!"

"It's not what you think…" Izuku said. "Please, in the name of science… eat this! " Izuku said, his face and voice imitating All Might.

Melissa, and indeed everyone else present, began laughing uproariously. When it finally subsided, Melissa snatched the hair and ate it. She grimaced a little as she swallowed, "This feels like something a stalker would do."

"Would your stalker try that, ribbit?" Tsu asked.

"No, but solely because Toga wants to drink my blood like she's spent a day wandering the Sahara and I'm a juice box," Izuku said with a shiver.

"Wait, does she actually have cravings like that?" Mei asked. "Like, does she need to drink blood to survive?"

"According to the police reports and the images she gave me via the bond, yes," Izuku said solemnly. "Near as I could tell, her parents tried to make her repress those urges until she couldn't contain them and she attacked a classmate. She ran away afterwards."

"That's actually really sad," Toru said. "Like, she was starving until she had a psychotic break." She paused and added, "Still glad you broke the bond, though. Even if she didn't want to murder you, having those mental images piped into our heads would be rough."

"Yep, bullet dodged. Or, knife I guess," Mei agreed.

"Moving on from that," Melissa interjected, "how long until we learn if this experiment worked?"

"Well, it took me about three hours to digest the hair and hear the vestiges," Izuku said.

"But once you swallowed it, we left Toshinori's body and entered yours. It was chaotic, like if you were in a car and it was grabbed by someone and flung somewhere else, even if the landing was fine," Yoichi said. "We're not moving right now, but for the first time in history, the stockpile was drained."

"By how much?" Momo asked, concerned.

"A quarter of a percent," Izuku replied.

"The same amount of power that One for All had when I transferred it to Ryouji," Yoichi stated. He looked at everyone's blank stares. "The growth over the centuries has been exponential."

"I'm not certain, but I think I could also have given you one of the other vestige's Quirks," Izuku said. "But I don't really want to experiment with that because I don't want to lose one of our bonds. But, this is how Creation's affecting me. I can use the power of the stockpile to create a Quirk that I can give to someone."

Suddenly, the enormity of the situation hit Melissa. She'd been experimenting, and she had the physical enhancements, and she knew that she was eventually going to hit Stage 3… but it hadn't sunk in. Now, Izuku had actually done it. He'd given her a Quirk.

"I'm not going to be Quirkless anymore…" Melissa said, in an awed, hushed tone. "And it's not from our connection to each other. You gave me a Quirk. You created a Quirk and gave it to me. It's mine …"

Everyone stopped and looked at her. Izuku put a hand on her shoulder as tears ran down her face, "Are you okay?"

"I'm a little overwhelmed," Melissa said. "I think I need to sleep on it. Do you guys mind if I take the first 'shift' tomorrow?"

No one objected to that.

The next morning began bright and early, with Izuku flying over from his hotel room to the tower where Melissa lived. She greeted him almost immediately.

"Did you sleep okay?" Izuku asked, concerned.

"I took a sleeping pill," Melissa replied. "I knew I'd need the rest and that I wouldn't be able to do it naturally. But I want to test it, and I need help."

Izuku smiled brightly, "Have no fear, for I am here!" he said warmly. Melissa giggled, but Izuku took her hand in his. "I want to see what it's like for you, so I'm going to try and look, okay?"

"Of course," Melissa said, returning his smile. He closed his eyes. She did as well, and they leaned into each other so their foreheads were touching, their breath shared.

He could see the Quirk settled inside her. If One for All was an ocean in the middle of a thunderstorm, then this Quirk, budded off of it, was like a river. A small trickle, but moving swiftly. It seemed small and harmless, but such rivers could carve canyons from stone and drown the unsuspecting. He showed her how One for All thrummed as he summoned Full Cowl. Breathing deeply, she repeated the motion.

As the new stockpile thrummed to life and coursed through Melissa's frame, she felt elated. She opened her eyes, and they separated. Both of them watched as she began to move, slowly at first, then swiftly.

The appearance couldn't be more different from Izuku's Full Cowl. Her every movement seemed fluid, swift. She began to punch the air, each time creating an afterimage of her limbs bending into the punch alongside her. She began to wiggle her fingers, causing a confusing blur as the flesh and blood fingers were mixed with the afterimages.

"Whoa," Izuku said. "I think that your father's Bendy Fingers Quirk is influencing your expression of One for All. Maybe my mom's Object Attraction and my Dad's Fire Breath influenced my own."

Melissa grinned, "So, we have dormant Quirk factors that express themselves through the Quirk we were given? That's an interesting avenue for research! We'll need to study this! I can only imagine the possibilities!"

Izuku smiled, "What're you going to call it?"

Melissa blinked, "I'm not sure. I mean, I'll need a name for it, since I can't tell people it's One for All."

"It isn't," Izuku said. "It's formed from One for All, but it isn't anymore. It doesn't have any of the vestiges, and it's not a part of it anymore. One for All is still my power…" He paused as he realized exactly what he just said without thinking.

"Izuku?" Melissa asked.

Izuku sniffled, "I just realized, I've stopped thinking about One for All like it's still All Might's Quirk. It's my power now. I've made it my own. And this power is yours , exactly the same."

Melissa nodded, "Yes, but we'll need an alibi for why I just beat you in the record for latest Quirk activation. And it's best to lie as little as possible." She thought for a second. "Battery. An energy stockpile that requires someone with a similar Quirk to share their power to activate it. Once you were willing to share some of your stockpile with me, my own Quirk awakened."

Izuku smiled, "Perfect."

He might have continued, but Melissa stopped him with a kiss. Their Quirks activated as they did, Izuku's sparks flying as Melissa's every movement, no matter how slight, created a blurring effect. The two of them broke the kiss, and once again pressed their foreheads together, their breaths in unison.

VWORP!

"Wait, what?!" Izuku dropped Full Cowl as Melissa gasped. "We reached the Sharing Bond already?! It feels like it's been too soon!"

Melissa blushed, "Well, it's been an intense few days."

"Well, I wonder how-" Izuku was cut off by his stomach growling.

Melissa giggled, "Quirk testing later. We'll need to eat. And besides, the others will want a piece of you afterwards, birthday boy…"

Oddly enough, this was the second time Izuku heard that exact phrase. Though the last time was a threat from Bakugou, so it wasn't really the same.

After getting breakfast, Melissa and Izuku ran into a group of his classmates coming from the cafe they'd ate at the previous day.

"Kaminari-kun!" Izuku waved. The blonde was wearing his Hero costume rather than his waiter outfit. "You're not working right now?"

"My shift starts later," Denki responded. Kyoka, Itsuka, and Pony were with him. "I just had to let as many people know about Sato-kun's pastries while they had the opportunity."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, Jamming-whey has some taste," Kyoka murmured.

"Unfortunately, now that the secret's out, I think Sato's going to have 1-A bugging him for sweets on a constant basis," Itsuka shook her head.

"As if you weren't the most delighted out of all of us," Kyoka snarked.

"I never said I wouldn't be the first customer," Itsuka grinned.

"Best quiche I've ever had," Pony concurred.

"¡Hola Señorita Shield!" came a voice from behind them. "[It's been too long!]" he switched to English

The group turned to see a young man about their age. He was a humanoid panther, covered in white fur with reflective silvery spots. His costume resembled an Aztec warrior, wearing a white vest patterned to resemble feathers, a gold and jade belt, an armored loincloth patterned with Mayan hieroglyphs, a jade helmet with a green feathered headdress, sandals revealing paw-like feet, golden bracers and greaves, a green cloak, and what appeared to be an obsidian mirror hanging from his neck.

"[It has been, if you're calling me that, Señor Hyouhen …]" she said the last part sarcastically. She turned to Izuku, "[Remember that story about my dad and All Might on the Mexican border? This is Tigre! He's the son of the two heroes they teamed up with!]"

"[Tigre Diego Ocelopilli Kin'ich Pakal Hyouhen y Chak Balam]" Tigre replied, bowing politely. "[Tigre Hyouhen for convenience's sake]."

"[I'm Izuku Midoriya]" Izuku returned the bow, "[Nice to meet you, Hyouhen-kun!]"

Tigre's golden eyes glimmered in recognition, "[Ah, so you're the infamous Small Might I've been hearing about…]"

Melissa sighed as Izuku sputtered, and she said exasperatedly, "[I didn't tell him to call you that, Izuku. He came up with it on his own.]"

"[Given your Sports Festival results, it seems accurate]" Tigre shrugged.

"Any chance of translation for those of us who don't speak English well?" Denki asked, clearly confused.

Tigre blinked, and responded, "Can speak Japanese if slow. Sorry not make easy for."

Pony giggled, "Oh, that's painfully familiar. I'm Pony Tsunotori. I'm from Texas."

"Ah, neighbor!" Tigre chuckled, "Have five tongues, this worst."

Denki grinned, "Well, thanks for accommodating us, Hyouhen-kun! I'm Denki Kaminari!"

"Itsuka Kendo," Itsuka introduced herself. "Happy to meet you!"

"Kyoka Jiro. The name Hyouhen sounds Japanese," Kyoka stated. "And I don't think all those names are Spanish…"

"Parents half," Tigre responded. "Father father and mother mother Japanese… not know word, [anthropologists]. Father mother Nahua, what lots call 'Aztec', mother father Maya. Speak Nahuatl, Mayan, Spanish, English, and Japanese."

"I'm also half-Japanese," Pony said. "I still have trouble with the language. I learned most of it at U.A."

"At U.A.? And no speak good?" Tigre said, shocked, then smiled warmly and gave a thumbs up, "Courage!"

Pony blushed, "[It's not that brave…]"

"[On the contrary, Señorita, you are braver than I am]" Tigre switched to English. "[I had considered trying for U.A., but ultimately, the language barrier was enough to dissuade me.]" To the group, he returned to Japanese, "Not first Expo, can help guide if want. If not, nice meet all!"

Melissa looked between Tigre and Izuku, "You know, the Cage is available…"

Tigre was taken aback, and grinned, "You mean…"

"What's the Cage?" Izuku asked.

"Hero spar!" Tigre said happily. "Force field so no Quirk hit audience! No tournament, just let hero test other hero!"

"Basically, that," Melissa said. "You can use your Quirks and Support Gear, and it lasts ten minutes, or until one combatant yields, is knocked out, or rendered immobile."

"Too young try earlier," Tigre said, smiling. "Want spar, Small Might?"

"Eh? Why me?" Izuku asked.

"Parents fight All Might past," Tigre shrugged. "Good fight, close fight. All Might young, but parents lose if not make friends. Want see how their son face All Might son!"

Izuku blushed at that last part, but he tamped down his instinct to deny it. At the rate things were going, All Might would officially be his father sooner rather than later. He'd have to accept people saying that now. "S-sure thing, Hyouhen-kun! I'd love to see what you're made of!"

Tigre smiled, revealing a lot of sharp teeth. Izuku tried to suppress the primal fear upon seeing that.

Okay, Izuku thought as he prepared for the spar. I looked up his parents after hearing the story from Professor Shield. Itztli Hyouhen, aka Tepeyollotl, is a mutant Hero in the vein of Gang Orca. His Quirk, Onca, lets him do whatever a jaguar can, granting him increased strength, speed, and senses. Nikte Chak Balam, aka Ix Chel, has an emitter Quirk called Elemental Rainbow, granting her the ability to channel seven lights to control one of seven possible elements. Tigre almost certainly has similar abilities to his father given their shared mutations, but the fact that he has white fur probably means that his mother influenced his Quirk as well. White fur is rare for jaguars, and his spots look similar to Toru's hair when it's visible. That indicates refraction based powers of some sort.

"None of that made it out," Yoichi said approvingly.

"Good job," En congratulated.

Smiling, Izuku prepared for the brawl about to take place. The announcer had a Quirk that allowed his words to automatically translate their words into a person's native language. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a challenge between two up-and-coming Hero candidates for you today! In the red corner, hailing from Tehuantepec, Mexico, the top first year Hero student at Santo Kaliman Academy! Please welcome the Phantom Beast Hero, White Jaguar!"

There were a number of cheers as Tigre stepped into the ring, soaking up the crowd's attention. He waved in the direction of those cheering, smiling widely.

"And, in the blue corner, hailing from Musutafu, Japan, the top first year Hero student at U.A. High School! Please welcome the Ultimate Hero, Kyuseishu!"

The U.A. Sports Festival was popular enough that the cheers for Izuku were much more than those for Tigre, even though the audience was international. Izuku nervously waved at the audience.

Izuku worried that his opponent would be offended by the disparity in the crowd's reactions (years of dealing with Bakugou and later dealing with opponents like Monoma had made their mark on his psyche). To his pleasant surprise, Tigre seemed quite happy that his foe was receiving a warm welcome.

When the bell rang to begin the fight, Izuku began by extending the "barrel" of his Ultimate Gauntlets, producing numerous Laser Discs and with a yell of "Chicago Smash!" he fired them all at Tigre like a machine gun. As the jaguar boy ran at his opponent, his spots changed color to yellow. The discs bounced harmlessly off of him and his footsteps caused the earth to shake.

"Palenque Smash!" Tigre's claws began to glow yellow as he leapt at Izuku. Luckily, he jumped straight into the air to dodge, but the force of Tigre's impact on the ground made the arena shake as he smashed a crater in the floor. Turning his head to Izuku, who was floating in midair, Tigre's spots returned to their prismatic state for a second.

The spots then turned a sky blue color as he leapt into the air, aiming a clawed foot in a midair kick. Izuku smacked him away, but the impact sent a gust of wind Izuku's way, blowing him back as Tigre landed gracefully on his feet, cloak billowing around him.

"Delaware Smash!" Izuku flicked his fingers at Tigre, hoping to blast him back with the air pressure of the flick.

"Chichen Itza Smash!" Tigre countered, leaping straight in the air after Izuku, ignoring the burst of air as he backhanded the green-clad boy and sent him reeling.

Despite being thrown off balance, Izuku wasted no time in summoning two strands of Blackwhip to entangle Tigre. Once again, the color of his spots vanished, before being replaced with a deeper blue. When the colors changed, Izuku's attempts to snare the feline in Blackwhip were stymied as the boy seemingly became frictionless and slipped out of his grasp.

He did inherit a Quirk from his mother! Izuku thought. Tigre landed on the ground, sliding along the dirt, dripping water as he did so. When his spots change color, he gains different elemental enhancements. Yellow seems to be earth-based, with the quakes and being able to endure hits better… Light blue seems to be wind, letting him jump better, resist my use of air pressure, and blow me back with his strikes…

"[Correct!]" Tigre shouted, revealing that Izuku was muttering out loud. "[And as you can no doubt surmise, indigo grants me power over water! Texcoco Smash!]" The jaguar clawed at Izuku, which did little damage, but pushed him back with a wave of water.

Spitting it aside, a soaked Izuku looked at Tigre, whose spots lost their color, "Was that supposed to do anything?" he asked as Full Cowl sparked.

"[Hmm, so that isn't actually electricity you're producing]" Tigre replied. "[Thought that might turn your strength into a liability…]" He then grinned as his spots became orange, "[Luckily, I didn't waste that move! Teotihuacan Smash!]"

Izuku could smell the ozone and feel the crackle of electricity as Tigre leapt at him. Needing to instantly be anywhere else, Izuku activated Fa Jin and rocketed to the other side of the arena. He then sent out a strand of Blackwhip to pummel him, shouting, "Miskatonic Smash!"

Tigre didn't manage to dodge that blow, taking it in his side. Still, his spots remained orange, and he managed to grab Blackwhip in his hand when he did so.

Overhaul and Rewind couldn't affect Izuku through Blackwhip. However, Daigoro's Quirk apparently conducted electricity, as he could feel the shock course through him. The tendrils disappeared as Izuku felt the pain. The agony was short, but intense, and it sent him falling to the ground.

Tigre got to his own feet, his spots now green, "[Small Might! Are you okay?!]"

"[Yes, I am]" Izuku said, getting to his feet. He was sore, but he'd endured a lot worse. And nothing seemed broken in the fall.

"Izuku, this is a friendly spar with no stakes!" Melissa shouted in his head. "If you're hurt, there's no need to continue."

"The next hit he gets on me, I'll tap out," Izuku responded. "But I had an idea I wanted to try out…"

And with that, Izuku began to billow out smoke, practically filling the force fields of the Cage in a thick, soupy fog.

"Let's see how he deals with a thirty-percent Smokescreen…" Izuku thought, as he cast out Danger Sense to detect the jaguar boy.

Unfortunately, his attempts weren't working. "Crap, he's like Toga! He can bypass-" he was cut off as Danger Sense went off and he dodged the incoming blow. And when he did, he felt his back bend further than he ever had before, almost to a ninety degree angle.

"Huh, so that's what the new Stage 3 is giving me," Izuku thought as he righted himself. His movements were wild enough to blow away the Smokescreen for a second, allowing Izuku to see that the spots were now purple.

"Melissa, what element does purple indicate?" Izuku asked.

"Shadow," Melissa answered. "I don't know all the details, but I know it makes stealth easier."

Izuku swore internally. Tigre made absolutely no sound while his Quirk was active. Not to mention that he could hide within the cover of Smokescreen, the purple aura preventing Izuku from even seeing his silhouette. He was only getting a split second of warning before each strike.

Luckily, this was giving him useful information. He couldn't test how his Mei-enhanced Danger Sense would interact with someone like Toga. Each time he dodged one of Tigre's attacks (he once heard the words "Copan Smash!" spoken in a whisper as claws flew past his face), he was getting a better read of his threat level. And when he cast out Danger Sense, he compared it to the readings of the audience.

It took a bit of time, but Izuku was able to come to a breakthrough, "His Quirk is cloaking his presence from Danger Sense… Toga's must do something similar. Right now, I can't sense his threat level, but after exposure, I've come to recognize the cloak!"

As he thought that, he began charging, using Fa Jin's stored energy to funnel into Laser Disc. He had to make this count… He knew the direction Tigre was coming from…

Tigre dropped his cloak, and then, he began to displace the smoke as a wave of heat erupted at Izuku, rushing him at great speed. Tigre caused a clearing in the smoke as he swung his arm down at Izuku, his body a white blur highlighted with a blazing red flame.

"TENOCHTITLAN SMASH!" Tigre yelled as he brought down his paw upon Izuku.

"BROOKLYN SMASH!" Izuku countered, holding a blue disc of light a meter in diameter as a shield between him and the jaguar boy, feet planted solidly in the ground as he swung the laser disc to both intercept the blow and bash his opponent.

The shield cracked and erupted in a blow of concussive force that sent Tigre hurling back. The force, combined with the force of Tigre's flames, sent Izuku off his feet and onto the ground.

Like the cat he was, Tigre managed to land on his feet, crouched on the ground . His spots lost their color once more, but they did not change as he panted from the exertion. His eyes were on Izuku, seeing what his opponent's next move would be.

Izuku, for his part, tapped the ground, "I yield!"

"And the winner of this bout is… WHITE JAGUAR!" Tigre let out a sigh of relief as he rose from his crouch. As the crowd cheered, Tigre gave a bow in return, thrilled at the adulation, as he walked over to Izuku and helped the boy up.

As their hands clasped, Tigre's spots turned green. As they made contact, Izuku could feel the pain from their spar start to ebb. "What the heck?" Izuku asked as he made it to his feet.

"[Green is wood, the element of life. I can heal wounds to a minimal degree, both my own and those of others if I am in physical contact with them]" Tigre said, smiling, before he winced and let go, the color fading once more. "[Yeah, if you hadn't conceded then, I would have lost. I'm tapped out for now.]"

"[Well, if I kept going and got more injured, Melissa and my other girlfriends would have killed me]" Izuku replied.

"[Glad we both know our limits]" Tigre grinned.

As they walked off, Izuku asked, "[So, could you tell me more about your Quirk?]"

Tigre grinned. "[I call it 'Mythical Jaguar', since the elements I control have all been represented by jaguars by the religions of various tribes. In addition to my physical mutations, I can augment myself with the element in question. By imbuing myself with an element, I can use it in my attacks, grant myself a form of defense, and in most cases add to my mobility.]"

"[Wow, that's a versatile Quirk!]" Izuku exclaimed. "How quickly can you change elements? Can you only use one color at a time? Can you split between two or more colors? What's the range of your attacks? How long can you keep up one of your elements? How-"

"Too speed, much words," Tigre replied in Japanese. "Not understand, sorry."

"[Sorry, that's my fault!]" Izuku replied, realizing he'd slipped back into his native tongue. "[Quirks make me excited.]"

"[No need to worry, Small Might]" Tigre replied warmly.

"[For just one of those questions, can you use more than one color at the same time? My friend can use fire on his left side and ice on his right. Are you stuck with one color all over, or can you manifest it in parts of your body?]"

Tigre begun to answer, but then he stopped. "[... Huh. I have never tried to isolate the aura to a portion of my body. I knew I couldn't use two colors at the same time, but that was when I used all of it…]"

Tigre held up his hands and focused. He began to let out heat as his spots turned red, but he focused that onto his left hand. His right hand, in contrast, turned clear, before his spots became orange, and the air was filled with both his heat and the crackling feeling of electricity.

"Mierda! Ach za ye nelli?" Tigre said before he dropped his Quirk, panting with exertion. "[I shall need to do practice with that, but you have done me a great service, my new friend!]"

At this point, they caught up with Melissa and Izuku's classmates. Melissa looked somewhat perturbed, "[Well, you didn't break bones this time, so this is better than your last 1v1 match.]" Telepathically, she added, "What did my Stage 3 Bond do for you?"

"[True enough]" Izuku said out loud, before telepathically responding, "I bent at an impossible angle to dodge one of Tigre-kun's attacks."

Melissa smiled, "Well, unfortunately, I've monopolized you for as long as I could today. I think Nejire-chan called dibs on you after me. Happy birthday, Izuku-kun."

Izuku smiled, "Well, it was a great start, Melissa-chan!"

"[Ah, it's your birthday?! Enjoy it, Small Might! Melissa, if you're free, I would like to spend some time with you. It's been far too long since we met face-to-face]" Tigre asked.

"[Sure!]" Melissa replied.

"[I'd like to tag along too, if you don't mind]" Pony asked.

"[Feel free if you wish, Señorita Tsunotori]" Tigre replied.

"[Cool, let me just say farewell to my friends…]" Pony grinned before she trotted off to the side with the other members of 1-A.

"Wait, what's going on?" Denki asked, a little confused.

"What's going on is, if I'm lucky, I may be going on a date with a Mexican hunk," Pony grinned.

Itsuka blinked, "Hunk? Well… Yeah, I can see it, if you're into that," she tilted her head.

"And I am," Pony said with finality.

Izuku scratched his head, "You know that he's located on the other side of the planet…"

"As is my family," Pony retorted. "Not to mention, I said date, not necessarily a relationship…"

Kyoka looked between the American and Mexican mutants with some concern, "Wait, don't jaguars eat horses?"

Pony grinned, "If I'm lucky."